Beware Vodafone TV Box

Well I got talked in to switching from Sky TV to the new Vodafone TV Box by a smooth-talking telemarketer. I have decided to stick with the Vodafone TV Box because there are a few really good features - the best being HD on all programmes, the ability to reach back 3 days to recover a programme you wanted to see and not having to Chromecast a few apps such as Netflix, Youtube, Three Now and TVNZ on Demand. But I have also been pulling my hair out over the bad features which are:

my broadband modem is in a different room from my 2 TV's. So I was provided with Wifi extender units to boost the signal to the TV boxes. Unfortunately the signal drops off frequently and I have to perform a fiddly reboot process to get things up and running again. Annoying when in the middle of a favourite programme!

For some unknown and possibly weird reason you can not record all programmes. In fact I would think only 50% of what I would like to record is recordable. Why is this Vodafone, this is a huge barrier to the success of your product?!

The fast forward/rewind function moves on time but not pictures - so when trying to bypass those annoying ads, you have to try and judge how long you think the ads might be. You end up frustratingly going too far and having to reverse till finally you find the place you want to be. This has to change or again people will balk at taking on this product!

There is no 'carry over' if a programme is running a minute or so late. So if you record it and later come to watch it, you well might miss the punchline at the end because the programme just cuts off.

Finally, I used to run 2 TV's off my Sky box so I could watch while in the kitchen and someone else could be watching in the lounge. This facility is not available with Vodafone, you have to run 2 TV boxes separately and you get charged for the extra box!

So think carefully before you switch from Sky. In retrospect I probably wouldn't have made the swithch if I knew what the problems were. The obvious solution is for Vodafone to get their act together and make the changes that would provide them with a superb product!!

Re: Beware Vodafone TV Box

With the wifi extender make sure they are balanced..i use a netgear extender and i have it positioned half way within my main wifi range not at the edge. Also i connect the 2g not the 5g.. much more stable..

Re: Beware Vodafone TV Box

Also the remote response to the box is very poor, and extremely frustrating. You basically have to be very close, and pointed at the exact place. The rewind is also frustrating as stated above by another customer, now I have to suffer adds as you cannot see were you’re at! I would not recommend going with it as it’s defiantly not as good as a sky box, also you don’t know which programmes you have watched in a series. As with Sky it shows you have watched it, this does not apply with Vodafone.🤔

- If they are in different rooms (probably), are your walls wooden or concrete?

- Can you confirm that one of the extenders is connected directly to your broadband router using an Ethernet cable?

In regard to not being able to record all programmes:

The Vodafone TV service use what we call a cloud PVR (cloud personal video recorder). This means that all recordings are stored on Vodafone servers "in the cloud" and not on a hard drive in the set-top box. For you as a customer this means that your recordings are available on all your devices: mobile and set-top box. And if you record on one set-top box or mobile, the recording is immediately available on your second set-top box (if you have one) and on your mobile devices. The cloud PVR also provides the 3 day catch-up service you mentioned, and cool future features that we have not launched yet.

To allow recordings to be made in the cloud, Vodafone must acquire "recording rights" from all our content partners, like SKY, TVNZ and the movie studios. (Set-top boxes with a hard drive in them do not require "rights" as the NZ copyright act allows for recording in the home for time shifting purposes.) The Vodafone TV team has worked very hard since many months before launch to acquire these rights. As an example, the recording "coverage" is 100% on most SKY channels. We are of course continuing to work hard to improve recording rights on all channels. In other words, expect ongoing improvements going forward.

In regards to visual feedback for fast forward and fast rewind:

This is a feature that is currently in development. I cannot provide dates, but rest assured it is a top priority for us to take to customers.

In regards to "carry over" (we call it guard times):

Guard times is currently available for recordings and for catch-up. (1 minute leading guard time, and 1, 5 or 10 minute trailing guard time depending on channel.)

However, guard times is not available for Restart (starting a programme currently airing from the beginning). This is something that is also in development as a product improvement.

In regard to running two TVs off one STB:

The ability to do so on a SKY box and similar boxes is a hang-over from the analogue days of TV. Going forward you will find that no new modern TV services will be able to do this, as output will increasingly be digital HDMI only. I guess this is both the way that technology is moving, and also now what rights holders require us to comply with in order to be allowed to carry their content.

Re: Beware Vodafone TV Box

Thanks for response to my complaints. I still think Vodafone should not have launched a product that was far from complete and certainly not make customers aware of the pitfalls before they make a major change (such as I did) and charge full price!

With repect to your questions about my wifi extender units, this is my situation:

All walls in my house are wood framework & gib board. It is a small house and the router and TV's are all on the ground level.

Fibre connection comes in to my office to the Vodafone HG659 router which is separated by one wall to the main TV at a distance of 4 metres. There is an ethernet cable from the router to the master extender which is set on AP.

The main TV has an ethernet cable from the Vodafone TV box to another extender which is set on Station.

The 2nd TV is located about 9 metres from the router and has the same setup with extender as the main TV.

Both TV's drop off coverage on almost a daily basis and I have to reboot the receiving routers (unplugging and then pressing the WPS buttons on both master extender and receiving extenders) every time. I am seriously sick of this. It is potentially a good product but far from doing its job. I can't recommend it.

Re: Beware Vodafone TV Box

Thanks for the tips. My power settings on both STB's are already on 'Instant On Mode'. One of the Tv's dropped off again last night! Could you please explain how to disable the 5GHz band on the HG659 router? There is no button or anything on the router itself that I can find to do this and there is no mention of this facility on the instruction manual that came with the router.